Where is the Side buggy course, in plain terms?
The safari does not start on the beach or in Side's old town. Instead it unfolds on private off-road land some way back from the sea, inland of Side, inside the Manavgat district of Antalya province. That is the location as we can state it with confidence.
You will not find a village name, a road number or a landmark for the course on this page. Nothing like that has been verified for us to publish, and we would rather give you a short, accurate answer than a detailed one that turns out to be wrong. Your transfer takes you straight there and back, so you do not need an address to find it.
Why we do not print a distance or a drive time
People often ask how far the course is from their hotel, or how long the drive takes. It is a fair question, and the honest answer is that it varies. The shuttle collects guests from different hotels across the nine pickup areas, and the order of the stops and the route it takes change from day to day.
A single figure would therefore be right for some guests and wrong for others. Instead of a number that cannot hold for everyone, we confirm your own pickup time with your booking. It is worked out for your hotel and that day's round, and it always falls before the start time you picked.
What we can give you is the total for the day: roughly 4–4.5 hours from hotel to hotel. That figure already includes the transfer in both directions, registration, the briefings and the practice drive, as well as the safari itself.
Pickup areas served by the included transfer
These nine areas near Side are covered by the free shuttle both ways. If your hotel is in one of them, you do not need to organise anything else to reach the course.
- Side
- Kumköy
- Evrenseki
- Çolaklı
- Titreyengöl
- Sorgun
- Kızılağaç
- Gündoğdu
- Kızılot
Staying outside those nine areas
Staying outside the nine pickup areas — say in Manavgat town centre, Antalya, Belek or Alanya? Then send us a WhatsApp before booking anything. We will tell you honestly whether a pickup can be arranged for you; none is promised from those places.
This matters most for guests who see that the course is in the Manavgat district and assume a hotel in Manavgat town is included. The transfer list names specific resort areas, not the district as a whole.
What the course itself is like
The safari follows the Short route, 18 km of off-road driving. Underneath you: forest tracks, dirt roads, clouds of dust, broken ground, a few shallow stream crossings and splash stops. Mud joins in when the ground is right for it, yet neither mud nor water is ever a certainty.
As the buggies never leave this private off-road course for a public road, nobody needs a driving licence to steer one; the only checks are a minimum age of 16 and an ID to prove it. A longer route also exists in Side, but it is not offered on this site yet.
After that much dust, the base's showers and changing cabins come as a relief. We cannot promise any other facilities there, so it is worth arriving dressed for the day in old, dark, comfortable clothes and closed shoes or trainers.
A short checklist before the day
Because the course is reached by the included transfer, most of the preparation is about being ready at your hotel rather than finding your way. Run through these points once your booking is confirmed, and message us if any of them is unclear.
- Your hotel is in one of the nine pickup areas, or you have already checked with us on WhatsApp
- You know your pickup time as confirmed with the booking, which is earlier than the departure time
- Every driver has an ID that shows their age
- Everyone is wearing old, dark clothes and closed shoes or trainers, with spare clothes for the showers
- You have a little cash if you want goggles, a bandana, drinks or photos at the base
From your hotel to the course: how the day fits together
Choose one of the three daily departures when you book. The departure time is when the activity starts; your shuttle reaches you earlier, at the pickup time we confirm. Once there, the order runs: sign-in, an information talk, a safety talk, a look at the buggy's controls, the compulsory warm-up drive and the guide's verdict, and then the main loop.
Prices are €30 per driver and €15 per passenger, paid on the tour day; nothing is charged online. Free cancellation is possible up to 48 hours before the start. If anything about getting to the course is unclear, message us on WhatsApp at +90 536 603 75 84 — bookings are made with Murat Atalay Travel Agency, TÜRSAB licence No. 11294.